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A universe filled with shining stars.

Somewhere within an immeasurable, vast expanse—only a tiny fragment of its entirety—

a mysterious star emitting an unusually deep red light appeared.

But upon closer inspection, it was not a star.

What could it be?

One thing was certain: whatever it was, it was moving, leaving behind a long trail of light toward the nearest planet.

Perhaps it was falling.

At the same time, a mysterious being—with yellow deer-like horns on its head and its entire body covered in a black robe—

sat in front of something that looked like a mirror.

It stared at it intently, as if desperately searching for something. It looked extremely anxious.

Yet even after a long time, it failed to find the answer it wanted.

Looking more closely, its face was hidden beneath a hood attached to the black robe, revealing only its nose.

It seemed as though it was trying hard to conceal something.

Its forelegs and hind legs, exposed outside the robe, were covered in something resembling green reptilian scales.

Its hands and feet resembled the hooves of a beast.

After a while, the being discovered the red light through the mirror-like object and shouted.

“That’s it! I found it!”

“Oh... how did it end up like that? How could it become this...”

It could not finish its sentence. Tears welled up in its eyes.

Worry, regret, and guilt tormented it. A deep, unbearable remorse weighed heavily upon it.

“I... we ignored your desperation. We turned away... I regret it so much now...”

“Even though we knew your judgment was right, we were stubborn... you were right.”

“Perhaps it’s only natural that we are not forgiven... we will never be forgiven...”

“We trapped ourselves within the walls we built and only resented fate...

Haah... sob...”

As it moved between deep sighs and tears of regret, an intense fear suddenly overwhelmed it.

“Idiot! This is not the time! This is not the time to be doing this!”

It grew impatient again. The red light was plunging toward the planet, and it was the only one who could save it.

It had wasted too much time on regret and lament that did not fit the situation.

In its urgency, it failed to check exactly where the red light was heading...

Even so, it rushed out of the cave without hesitation.

The place where it stood was the peak of a high mountain—a mystical place where clouds spread flat in all directions like land.

“Ah... damn it!”

“Where is it? Which direction?!”

“Should I go back and check?”

“No, there’s no time... what should I do?”

“What should I do... what should I do...”

Panicking, it fell into a swamp of its own questions.

At that very moment, an unknown force revealed the location of the red light to it.

“Hm...? There! That direction!”

“Who is it? At this moment, who is helping me...?”

But there was no time to think.

It sensed the trajectory of the light and rushed in that direction.

But it was already too late.

In a fleeting instant, the red light pierced through the clouds before its eyes and was rapidly falling toward the ground.

At the final moment, it wanted to grab it with all its strength, but before it could even use its power, it disappeared from sight.

“Aaaah... it’s over...”

Complete despair. It could not move.

As a dark sense of despair began to consume it—

as if someone helped it once again...

That help allowed Yellow Horn to act quickly with cold judgment.

“I don’t know who you are... but thank you.”

Having made a decision, Yellow Horn began to thrash its forelegs, drawing a large circle in front of it.

Then red and yellow clouds and green clouds slowly began to appear, and when its hooves met each other,

two small clouds gradually began to merge into one.

It dropped to all fours, taking the posture of a beast—like a plump deer preparing to charge.

As Yellow Horn concentrated its mysterious power, the merged cloud became round like a single sphere.

Then it quickly adjusted its posture, sat down, and drew it into its arms with both hands.

Yellow Horn steadied its breathing and commanded the glowing sphere.

“Show me the location of the Red Rooster.”

At the same time, its eyes shone brightly.

Not long after, it found the location of the Red Rooster.

Yellow Horn looked around the Red Rooster, searching for any creature it could control—anything that could help.

Then it found a wild animal grazing peacefully at a suitable location.

As it began to mutter, a glowing sphere like the one it created slowly descended above the animal’s head.

The sphere rested briefly on the animal’s snout before seeping into it.

The animal moved according to Yellow Horn’s will and ran swiftly toward the Red Rooster.

From high above, the Red Rooster, which had fallen through the clouds, could be seen floating on the ocean.

It must have sunk deep into the water and then risen back up.

Soon, it began to slowly sink again.

Seeing this, Yellow Horn hurried the animal toward the Red Rooster’s location and made it leap off a cliff into the sea.

With a loud splash, the animal entered the water and found the unconscious Red Rooster sinking.

The animal approached it, pushed it upward with its nose, then lifted it onto its horns and began rising to the surface.

By the time they reached the surface, the Red Rooster was resting on the animal’s back.

The Red Rooster hung limp. Had it lost consciousness? There was no response.

From a great distance, Yellow Horn licked its hooves, and at the same time, a mysterious power slowly began restoring the Red Rooster.

“Thank goodness... it wasn’t too late. I’m sorry... I’m so sorry.”

It let out a sigh of relief, its entire body drenched in sweat. Yet it was very happy.

“I’m sorry, Red Rooster... I’m truly sorry... Guardian...”

After a long silence, it murmured quietly.

“But you see... don’t worry too much. It wasn’t complete destruction.”

“Not long ago... a seed of hope came to me.”

“This time, I will protect them.”

With determination, it clenched its hooves so tightly that they bled.

---

After that, a great amount of time passed.

On the devastated planet, the Red Rooster, wearing only tattered rags, walked weakly along a dark and unfamiliar path, relying on a faint lamp.

It could not even tell whether this path it was taking was the right one.

Half out of its mind, it muttered while breathing heavily.

“This time... I must reach the Tarin Forest. No matter what, I will make it.”

As it slowly approached the deep darkness, a familiar fear quietly began to rise within it.

“The insects... they’ll be here soon.”

“Yes... that time is coming again. They will come.”

It threw away the rags that had protected it from the cold along with the lamp, and slowly walked into the endless darkness.

♢ ♢ ♢ ♢ ♢

Meanwhile, on another planet—Earth...

A blue truck loaded with moving belongings was driving diligently along an empty road.

The weather was excellent. The sky was a deep blue, and fluffy clouds were beautifully spread across it.

Inside the truck, driving along a road that seemed long neglected, were a father and his young daughter.

They were in the middle of moving.

However, the child’s expression reflected in the window was not bright.

Without saying a word, she gazed at the vast land and the high sky outside. Her face was full of worry.

The child, who had been looking at the sky, suddenly stopped and turned forward, lowering her head deeply.

The father had been watching every moment of his daughter.

After a brief hesitation, he quietly called her name.

Dad: Rogi~

Rogi: ...Yeah?

Dad: I’m sorry.

Dad: I decided on the move so suddenly without even asking you.

Dad: It looks like our Rogi has a lot of dissatisfaction on her face~

Dad: So I’m sorry.

Rogi: Dissatisfaction?

Dad: Hm?

Rogi: Dad, what does dissatisfaction mean?

Rogi had just turned seven. It seemed she did not know the meaning of the word “dissatisfaction.”

The father carefully explained the meaning to her.

After that, Rogi lowered her head again in silence.

Then suddenly, she remembered her promise with her mother.

Forcing a bright expression, she spoke.

Rogi: No, Dad! We promised to stay strong for Mom! Mom, Dad, and me!

Rogi: For the day we all live together again in one house, we have to stay strong! We can’t just worry, right?

Rogi: I promised Mom. I’ll help you, Dad! You remember the promise with Mom, right?

Dad: That’s right, Rogi. Help Dad a lot. My daughter... hmm...

At that moment, the father was overwhelmed with emotion and paused.

Barely suppressing his surging feelings, he spoke again.

Dad: Dad really needs a lot of help from Rogi!

Rogi: Don’t worry, Dad! I’ll help with anything! I’ll do everything! For Mom, for you!

Dad: Alright, Dad will stay strong too. My daughter is the best!

Rogi: Haha! Stay strong, Dad!

Dad: Yeah, Dad will. Thank you, my daughter...

He could no longer hold back his emotions. The father quietly continued driving.

The blue truck, which had been carrying only moving belongings, was now filled with hope and love.

-1 A END